TikTok testing ‘clear mode’ for a distraction-free scrolling

  • TikTok is testing a new feature for a ‘distraction-free’ scrolling experience which gets rid of clutter on screen.
  • The ‘clear mode’ feature removes elements such as captions, buttons, usernames, and audio information while scrolling on the app.
  • Clear mode is currently only available to some users in limited testing and no wider release date has been announced.
  • You can read the full story on Tech Crunch’s website.

Online abuse lasts at least two years for 22% of trolling victims

  • Research commissioned by Dame Vera Baird, the Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, found that online abuse lasts at least two years for 22% of victims.
  • Almost two thirds of online abuse victims (65%) report being unhappy with the response from tech companies and 55% were dissatisfied with police response.
  • On many occasions, police didn’t understand what constituted a crime online, were not well-trained in internet skills and mainly told people to block the abuser.
  • You can read the full story on the Winsford and Middlewich Guardian’s website.

Ofcom urges tech firms to keep women and girls safer online

  • Ofcom is urging tech firms to keep women and girls safer online on websites and apps.
  • The latest Online Nation report from Ofcom found that women are less confident about their online safety than men and feel less able to have a voice and share opinions online.
  • Results show that women are also more negatively affected by discriminatory, hateful, and trolling content.
  • You can read the full story on Ofcom’s website.

Sextortion threat to Midlothian youngsters

  • Police chiefs in Midlothian report an increase in the number of parents reporting concerns involving their children falling victim to sextortion.
  • Sextortion involves the threat of sharing sexual information, images or clips to extort money whether images actually exist or not.
  • They report that sextortion is the biggest cause of threats and extortion nationally, with many crimes being committed by people living abroad.
  • You can read the full story on the Edinburgh News website.

Grant for social workers in schools and designated safeguarding lead supervision

  • The Department for Education is making funding available to local authorities that participated in the social workers in schools (SWIS) or designated safeguarding lead supervision (DSLS) trials.
  • The funding aims to continue the delivery of these intervention models during the 2022-2023 academic year in England.
  • The trials are designed to improve the social care and academic outcomes of children with a social worker through strengthened interagency working between social workers and schools.
  • You can read the full story on the GOV.UK website.